Sheep which are shown in fairs and livestock shows must be in very good shape to be competitive, due to the very good quality of other sheep being shown. Prestige and profits associated with showing prize-winning animals are highly sought. As a result, there is much competition in this field.
Traditionally, sheep have been exercised by chasing them in an alleyway or similar enclosure to keep them fit and to increase muscle bulk. Sometimes sheep are chased over hurdles to further increase the size of their rear leg muscles.
These prior techniques involve various disadvantages. For example, in order to chase sheep in an alleyway a person must commit to spend the necessary time and a fair amount of effort. Even with such time and effort, however, the results can be less than desired. For example, there may have been too little consistent exercise to have an observable effect on the muscles of the sheep. Also, sheep can become injured when they are chased over hurdles or obstacles.
Although the use of a treadmill for sheep has been more recently proposed, the type of treadmill proposed has various drawbacks. For example, it elevates the front quarters of the sheep to a very high level relative to the rear quarters. This can be harmful to the sheep because it can create a protrusion or undesired muscle build-up at the top of the loin. Also, use of such a treadmill can cause physiological abnormalities with muscle attachment of the hip to the loin area.
Another disadvantage of such treadmill is that it is elongated and very narrow. Although multiple sheep could be exercised at the same time, the sheep must be positioned in nose-to-tail, single file arrangement (i.e., all the sheep are in a single row). This results in the front sheep being elevated a significant distance. In order to load the sheep onto the elevated treadmill the first sheep must enter at the lower end and be led to the upper end of the apparatus, then the second sheep must also enter at the lower end and be led to the next position. Finally, the third sheep can enter the lower end of the apparatus. After being exercised, the sheep must either be removed from the apparatus by backing them out one at a time, or else it is necessary to build a hill adjacent the upper end of the apparatus to enable the sheep to jump out from the upper end of the apparatus. This is extremely undesirable and possibly dangerous.
There has not heretofore been provided a treadmill suitable for exercising sheep in a convenient and safe manner.